Jesus speaks of the charity the poor widow shows by giving all she has to God. There are many definitions of what charity is, but we will look at the basic definition and how it applies to the Gospel reading for this Sunday.

What is charity? “Charity is the theological virtue by which we love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God. Jesus makes charity the new commandment, the fullness of the law. It is the ‘bond of perfection’ (Colossians 3:14) and the foundation of the other virtues to which it gives life, inspiration, and order. Without charity ‘I am nothing’ and I gain nothing’ (1 Corinthians 13:2-3).” [1]

“It also means serving God in our neighbor with a charity which does not measure out what we give on the basis of what is superfluous for us, but according to the other person’s needs. Almsgiving is not Christian charity unless it includes the gift of self, a gift which is impossible without sacrifice, without renunciation, without taking something away from self. Christian charity means weeping with those who weep (Rom. 12:15), participating in the predicaments of the poor, sharing their deprivations and, in extreme cases, their hunger also…This was what the Jewish widow did who offered all she had.” [2]

[See also Link to Liturgy Lesson – Love and Charity]

Who is required to practice charity? As the Church said in Vatican II, “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” [3]

Why are all Christians called to practice charity? It is because we are all part of the Mystical Body of Christ. “The unity of the Mystical Body produces and stimulates charity among the faithful: ‘From this it follows that if one member suffers anything, all the members suffer with him, and if one member is honored, all the members together rejoice.’ Finally, the unity of the Mystical Body triumphs over all human divisions: ‘For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’” [4]

What comes from being charitable? By practicing true charity and giving over to God all that we have, we more easily live the commandments of God. “Fruit of the Spirit and fullness of the Law, charity keeps the commandments of God and his Christ: ‘Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.’” [5] “The practice of the moral life animated by charity gives to the Christian the spiritual freedom of the children of God. He no longer stands before God as a slave, in servile fear, or as a mercenary looking for wages, but as a son responding to the love of him who ‘first loved us’” [6]

Jesus tells us that the kingdom of Heaven is for the poor and the childlike. Children depend completely on their parents for their livelihood. The widow puts her complete trust and dependence on God, which frees her from any burdens. It brings her into balance and great peace because she is living out the theological virtues to the fullest extent as she can. “The practice of all the virtues is animated and inspired by charity, which ‘binds everything together in perfect harmony’; it is the form of the virtues; it articulates and orders them among themselves; it is the source and the goal of their Christian practice. Charity upholds and purifies our human ability to love, and raises it to the supernatural perfection of divine love.” [7]

Who in your life that you know lives in complete dependence on God? How can we be more charitable to God? What charitable things can we do for our neighbor? If you have done an act of charity for God or your neighbor, how did you feel afterwards?

What is virtue? “Virtue is a habitual and firm disposition to do good.” [8]

What are the fruits of charity? “The fruits of charity are joy, peace, and mercy; charity demands beneficence and fraternal correction; it is benevolence; it fosters reciprocity and remains disinterested and generous; it is friendship and communion: Love is itself the fulfillment of all our works. There is the goal; that is why we run: we run toward it, and once we reach it, in it we shall find rest.” [9]

What are the effects of charity? Just as the widow attracted Jesus’ attention by her charity, we too attract God’s attention by our almsgiving. [10] Through our own charity, God can heal the wounds of our sins. [11] Additionally, charity increases charity, in that “Charity does not cease with the love-inspired word of encouragement or the selfless sharing of pain; it starts a chain reaction of generosity that goes on for centuries after the one who began the reaction has died.” [12]

Charity is not the only action that can have a ripple effect, though. The opposite is true as well. “Unkindness does not stop with an act of impatience or spite; its effects continue in a never-ending spiral long after the sin was committed.” [13]

What does sin do to charity? Sin, especially mortal sin “results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell…” [14]

How do we sin against charity? “One can sin against God’s love in various ways:

Indifference neglects or refuses to reflect on divine charity; it fails to consider its prevenient goodness and denies its power.

Ingratitude fails or refuses to acknowledge divine charity and to return him love for love.

Lukewarmness is hesitation or negligence in responding to divine love; it can imply refusal to give oneself over to the prompting of charity

Acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness.

Hatred of God comes from pride. It is contrary to love of God, whose goodness it denies, and whom it presumes to curse as the one who forbids sins and inflicts punishments.” [15]

What do faith and charity have in common? We need both for our salvation. By having faith in Jesus Christ, we love Him above everything and everyone. However, it also means to give ourselves in charity to our neighbor: “…salvation does not depend on either faith or charity but on faith
andcharity. It is not enough to believe, even with a faith that moves mountains or that works miracles. We must also have charity, which is based on faith indeed but goes beyond faith to reach out to the One in whom we believe, and from this love for God reaches out to all whom his providence places, though casually, into our lives.” [16]

Let us follow Mary’s example, the Church’s model of faith and charity. “In a wholly singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope, and burning charity in the Savior’s work of restoring supernatural life to souls. For this reason she is a mother to us in the order of grace.” [17]